Meet the Champions

Taking action against cancer is a team effort. It requires the participation of state and local government, business owners, employers, and community organizations to raise awareness about the many forms of cancer and help educate the public on the steps they can take to prevent cancer.

Each champion below has played an instrumental role in bringing the Cancer Prevention in Action message to the people of our community. We thank them for their leadership and commitment to taking action against cancer.

Laurie Kimball, Cancer Survivor

My name is Laurie Kimball. I am a wife, a mother of six, a grandmother of 5, a sister, a daughter, an aunt, and I am Breast Cancer (BC) survivor. As a 30-year employee, I can say many great things about St Mary’s Healthcare, but today I am going to speak not as an employee, but as a woman diagnosed with Breast Cancer at the age of 53. This is my story. It is a window to how very important early detection is and how it not only saved my life, but also saved me from more invasive body altering surgery.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY STORY >

Dr. William Mayer, MD, CPE, Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Medical Affairs & Quality Management at St. Mary’s Healthcare

Dr. William Mayer, Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Medical Affairs & Quality Management at St. Mary’s Healthcare has served in this role since 2014 but has been with St. Mary’s for many years serving as a member of our Medical Staff, and through his private practice, Mayer and Cope. Dr. Mayer is a true leader in healthcare through his team-oriented approach with improving the quality and safety of the care delivered at St. Mary’s Healthcare. Dr. Mayer is a CPiA champion because practicing prevention was an area he focused and practiced in for many years as a primary care physician in the beginning of his medical career. Dr. Mayer strongly believes in the importance of catching cancer early when it is easiest to treat through regular routine cancer screening exams. He has been an advocate for CPiA with helping the community understand that practicing prevention should be more at the forefront of everyday practice.

Gloversville Enlarged School District – Principal of Gloversville High School Dr. Richard DeMallie Gloversville High School provides a comprehensive and challenging program that prepares students for success in advanced educational studies, the workforce, or other post-graduate plans. High school and college-level courses provide many opportunities for students to develop and hone their skills, attitudes, and knowledge. Students may strive to obtain a major in any of the academic areas, elective disciplines such as art or music, or occupational studies. They may earn advanced placement (AP) and/or college credit in each major discipline. GHS is one of only two schools in the Fulton/Montgomery counties to offer the full complement of Project Lead the Way – a pre-engineering course in which students learn through hands-on activities. Several clubs and activities are available to GHS students, including Jazz Band, Astronomy Club, High Altitude Club, Alliance Club, ESports, Masterminds, National Honor Society, Scitamard (Drama), Student Government Association (SGA), Student Library Assistants, Student Newspaper, Yearbook. Gloversville High School Principal, Dr. Richard DeMallie is a lifelong resident of Fulton and Montgomery Counties. He has worked in the Gloversville Enlarged School District for the past 20 years. Dr. DeMallie started his career off as a Physical Education teacher at Gloversville High School. He then went on to be the Assistant Principal before becoming the Principal of Gloversville High School. Dr. DeMallie is a graduate of FMCC, SUNY Cortland, St. Rose, and Sage Colleges. Dr. Richard DeMallie is a CPiA champion for recognizing the importance and the need for sun safety education and policy through the help of CPiA. Dr. DeMallie is aware of the harmful effects of the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation can cause skin cancer. Therefore, to help prevent skin cancer, Dr. Demallie along with the The Gloversville Enlarged School District’s Board of Education, implemented a district wide sun safety policy. The district will support sun safety behaviors in students especially those participating in outdoor interscholastic sports; create environmental supports to avoid overexposure to the sun when students are outdoors; and provide key sun safety education; and communication with students and families.

Co-owner of Calderwood Training Solutions Christopher Menge

Calderwood Training Solutions was created in 2018 in an effort to improve local training options. This company was formed to design training programs for specific agency’s needs. Many programs come as a “canned” product that needs to be customized and molded to each individual organization. Calderwood Training Solutions creates training to meet your direct needs as well as offers consulting services and a variety of other emergency services programs including American Heart Association CPR programs and OSHA training. We offer a variety of programs including Leadership development for corporate clients as well and the emergency services field. Our Partnership is based upon over 20 years of friendship and emergency services experience in various backgrounds that allows us the ability to work well in many arenas. Understanding the dangers to first responders in regards to Cancer in the emergency services field has allowed us to partner with CPIA to lead by example in this arena.

Co-owner of Wolf Hollow Brewing Company Pete Bednarek

At Wolf Hollow Brewing Company our mission is about crafting strong relationships around great craft beer. One of the best parts of working towards this mission every week is when we make connections like we did with Cancer Prevention in Action. One of our long-time loyal customers overheard a conversation about plans we were making to expand and enhance our outdoor seating during the pandemic and she asked our Taproom Manager to have me give a call. That simple moment lead to a synergy that resulted in a more enjoyable outdoor space at our business and a safer experience for our patrons plus a policy to enhance cancer screening for our employees. At Wolf Hollow we feel like this was a true “win-win-win.” Working with Cancer Prevention in Action our Brewery was able to add 5 large sun shades, a sunscreen dispenser (plus skin cancer awareness signage) as well as a beautiful Amish-built wooden gazebo for our patrons enjoyment and sun-safety. “I don’t know anyone who is unaffected by cancer and at WHBC, having lost one of our owners to leukemia, we are continually aware of the importance of screening and prevention. “Our partnership with CPiA was the greatest example of public health, local business, and community members working together to achieve an outcome that is both aesthetically enjoyable and functionally beneficial for countless people,” said Pete Bednarek, co-owner. “This project is what Wolf Hollow is all about.” Through the grant, Wolf Hollow increases patron awareness on the dangers of skin cancer, encourages use of shade and sunscreen, allows its employees paid time off each year for cancer screening of all kinds. “The best part is that we were able to accomplish this with our friends at CPiA and offer our customers a more beautiful outdoor space in the WHBC big backyard during a time when everyone was looking to spend more time outside.”

City of Amsterdam – Rob Spagnola, Tourism, Marketing & Recreation Director

The City of Amsterdam NY is located in Montgomery County, New York. The completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 was an economic boom to the city, which became an important manufacturing center known for its carpets. The city developed on both sides of the Mohawk River. Today The City of Amsterdam encourages you to visit the wonderful museums, experience 24+ beautiful parks, bike paths, historical sites and many quality family owned restaurants as well as numerous options for lodging. The City of Amsterdam Recreation Department maintains more than 50 of the City’s parks, veteran’s monuments, traffic islands, bridges, pool and athletic fields on a daily basis. The Recreation Department also plans, organizes and oversees the major events in the City throughout the calendar year as well as community activities, youth programming, and recreational adult and youth sports leagues.

Rob Spagnola, Director of Tourism, Marketing and Recreation Department for the City of Amsterdam is a CPiA champion for welcoming and adopting 2 sun safety policies. The city adopted sun safety policies for outdoor worksite for all city employees as well as a sun safety policy for outdoor recreation for all residents and visitors. The city has installed several shade sails and sunscreen dispensers in various parks throughout the city to provide shade and protect visitors and residents. We appreciate The City of Amsterdam, NY for being the first sun safe city in Montgomery County NY.

Pictured: Rob Spagnola – Tourism, Marketing & Recreation Director and Michele Pawlik – Tourism, Marketing & Recreation Specialist

City of Gloversville – Vincent DeSantis, Mayor

The City of Gloversville NY was originally settled by New England Puritans in the 1790’s. As the community grew, leather tanning became a prominent local industry and the manufacture of gloves became widespread as a cottage industry. In 1828, the settlement was officially given its current name upon the establishment of the first post office. Steady growth followed not only through manufacturing but through Gloversville’s prominence as a gateway to the Adirondacks with its rich supplies of lumber, firs and other forest products. Today Gloversville’s physical character is reflective of much of its history and traditions. The city is surrounded by a truly rural environment dominated by fields and forests with almost no strip mall or residential sprawl. The pristine beauty of the Adirondacks, with its lakes and forests, is only a ten minute drive from the City’s Center. Not a single traffic light interrupts travelers between the city line and the vastness of the wilderness on any one of several two-lane roadways.

Mayor Vincent DeSantis and the Gloversville Common Council are CPiA champions for adopting 3 cancer prevention policies. The city adopted sun safety policies for outdoor worksite for all city employees as well as a sun safety policy for outdoor recreation for all residents and visitors. The third policy that was adopted through the Mayor and the Common Council was a Paid Time Off For Cancer Screening Policy for their employees which was also added and updated to their employee handbook. We appreciate Mayor DeSantis and the Common Council for reducing the cancer burden by having a city that welcomes and encourages actions to take against cancer with these policies in place.

St. Mary’s Healthcare – Dr. Mahvash Majeed, M.D.

Dr. Majeed M.D. is a pediatric doctor at St. Mary’s Memorial Pediatric Health Center located in Amsterdam NY. The Pediatric team at St. Mary’s knows your little one is the most important person in your life, so we treat them like one of our own. You’re never just another patient at St. Mary’s. The staff at the hospital and both of our pediatric health centers remains committed to providing high-quality care in a child-friendly setting by focusing on each child’s unique needs while incorporating a family-centered care approach. This means that we will work with you to care for your child’s specific needs, whether it’s a newborn or an adolescent, and whether it’s a minor injury or illness, or a complex condition. Our staff is trained to care for each child and their special needs.

Dr. Majeed is a CPiA champion and strongly recommends to her age appropriate patients to obtain the cancer prevention vaccine HPV, human papillomavirus. She is the doctor featured in our CPiA HPV video and strongly believes that the HPV vaccine is cancer prevention. We applaud Dr. Majeed and her entire staff for their dedication and commitment to reduce the cancer burden in the community they serve.

St. Mary’s Healthcare – Dr. Emily Etzkorn, M.D.

Dr. Etzkorn, M.D. specializes and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine & Pediatrics. She has been in private practice in Amsterdam, NY since 2001 and maintains a busy primary care practice there. She enjoys taking care of the entire family. She maintains hospital privileges at St. Mary’s Hospital in Amsterdam, NY. Their mission is to provide compassionate, timely, excellent medical care for the entire family. The practice offers preventative health care, chronic disease management and sick care for all ages. Dr. Etzkorn is a CPiA champion because she values distributing education on sun safety practices to all her patients as well as being a huge advocate for age-appropriate patients to obtain the cancer prevention vaccine HPV, human papillomavirus. We applaud Dr. Etzkorn and her entire staff for their dedication and commitment to reducing the cancer burden in the community they serve.